Her Awkward Resolve
by Neverland's Kitsune X
Summary: If asked a question, she's most likely to give you a sarcastic remark. But before she met her new friends, she wouldn't have spared a backward glance on humanity as it crashed and burned. Everyone needs a some sunshine in their life, and for her, it saved her from the darkness. There are no shadows without a source of light, yet light is meaningless without darkness to cultivate it
1. Chapter 1: Ready to Start?

"I'm going to be late again, aren't I Kaen?" She whispered softly into the morning air, bringing an arm up to shield her eyes from the sunlight streaming through open curtains.

"If you get up in the next three seconds, rush like hell through everything, and eat breakfast as we run to school, then nah, you'll be fine." A tired voice grumbled into their shared pillow.

"Alright, time me, the record to beat is seven minutes and 49 seconds!" Leaping out of bed and throwing a stopwatch from her nightstand drawer at her Buddy with a sudden burst of energy, she rushed into the bathroom without another second to spare.

With a groan, the great and almighty Buddy of Chiaki Fuji, who was nicknamed Kaen for easier use, managed to catch and start the stopwatch as he rolled off the bed.

"I'll get breakfast ready!" He called as he stood up, a gurgle from the bathroom informing him his Buddy was brushing her teeth coming back in response.

Not even a minute later was the young girl running out of the bathroom, throwing a wet washcloth at him, grabbing two pieces of toast that had just popped out from the toaster, dropped the two too hot pieces of toast onto a plate her Buddy set out, and hurriedly went to tugging on her shoes.

"Wash your face, keep the stopwatch, you can drape the towel over that chair, I have your food, let's go!" As soon as she had her street shoes on, she bit into one of the pieces of toast, grabbed her bag, and ran out the door, not worried if her Buddy would follow as she already knew he would.

The towel slowly peeled off Kaen's face, leaving an unamused out-of-this-dimension being alone in the house with his Buddy running towards Aibo Academy with his breakfast.

"I'm starting to rethink my choices of coming here and becoming Buddies with her." He muttered, crouching down to pick up the washcloth. Yet even with those words, if he was asked, he wouldn't deny the affectionate smile on his face.

* * *

"Hey, you're finally here! Here you go Kaen, please tell me the stopwatch is still timing me, ah, we're almost there!" I set an even faster pace as the escalators came into view, glad to have handed off the toast I grabbed for Kaen. My stomach was sad at the loss, but it was never mine to begin with, alas.

"We're at six minutes and 38 seconds, you might break the record. Actual time right now is 7:48, you might be early! Congrats young one, I have trained you well." Kaen commented breezily next to me, not even sweating.

"That's… great." I breathed out as we finally stepped onto the escalator, giving me a nice break.

"Now if memory serves me correct, you promised you would bring a bento for Baku today." Oh. Whoops…

"Ahahaha, you'll catch me if he throws me off the roof, right?" I asked nervously, jogging in place on my moving step to get ready for a speed dash to class.

"I don't think he'll throw you off the roof, you still owe him food after all." Kaen gave me a half shrug, raising his shoulder a bit.

I rolled my eyes, getting into position to run. As soon as I was close enough to solid ground, I raced forwards, knowing Kaen wasn't far behind.

After what must have been the quickest shoe change of my life and the speed limit broken in the hallways, I burst through the classroom doors with a triumphant grin.

"I made it! I'm not late!" I cheered, fist-pumping the air. Sparse applause followed me to my seat. I bowed indulgently before taking a seat next to Gao who was chatting- er, arguing? with Noboru. Something about dragons and knights. Kaen entered a few seconds later, showing my the stopwatch face.

"Um, so I'm sure you did beat your old record, but I sort of re… set the time by accident?" He laughed as if it were a joke, then began sweating nervously.

I groaned, dropping my head onto my desk with a loud bang.

"Kaen, go away, I hate you right now, you ruined my life. Leave me alone to wallow in my misery." I moaned dramatically, my forehead pressed against wood as I stared down at my shoes.

I popped back up to stare into his red and purple eyes. His right eye was a solid red, whilst his left eye was an ever changing array of shades of purple on the color spectrum. As he said before, the color of his left eye depended on a lot of things, his mood, the weather at the moment, how hungry he was, etc. etc. At the moment, it was a light lavender, a replicated color palette of the actual flower.

"Oh, and you better visit at lunch and be back for dinner. I _will_ go out looking for you dude. Please don't make me worry." I gave him a small smile to let him know I wasn't _too_ pissed off. It wasn't that big of a deal, we all made mistakes sometimes, but I still wanted to break the record. A lot. With an actual legit time recorded.

Kaen grinned, flashing quite normal looking teeth at me. Sure his incisors were a bit sharper, but humans have that quality too. So, not too demonic at all.

"See you later then. Hey Gao, Noboru, Kuguru, Baku." Kaen greeted casually, as he did everyday ever since he had joined me at school. (It was a few weeks after he became my Buddy.)

Kuguru waved back, greeting him a good morning politely, Baku was stuffing his face yet managed to say something I hoped was nice with his mouth full, and then Noboru and Gao didn't even hear him as they continued their argument. Kaen waved at us all before he began stepping backwards into one of his portals, off to what he called his travel realm.

"Hey, you can help us resolve this Chiaki! Which is better, Armoured Dragons or Dragon Knights?" Noboru turned to face me, smile on his lips. " _Gao_ here can't decide, but it's obvious Dragon Knights are better."

I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my chair and tipping it so I balanced on two legs.

"Well, I wouldn't say one's better than the other, they both have their own pros and cons. Dragon Knights are pretty cool, I guess. They ride dragons after all. But Armoured Dragons are amazing too. They have their own will, and don't take commands from a rider. They're incredible creatures. I can't decide which is better, but I might be a bit more biased towards Armoured Dragons. Their sd forms are too adorable." I cooed, imagining tiny dragons with chubby cheeks and giant eyes.

"S… D?" Both of them asked.

"Super Deformed. Uh, in simpler terms, a chibi version. Usually it's a chibi, or sometimes like my Buddy, it'll hide… certain… _qualities_ of him that may make the public too uncomfortable. I don't think I've ever had to Buddy Call Kaen in the fights you've seen me in, and he tends to stay in his more humanoid form if not on the battlefield." I answered with a smile, thinking of how fun it would be to surprise them with Kaen's unmasked forms.

 _He's an angel, he's a devil, he's breath-taking and wonderful, so so beautiful, he captures light and darkness and holds them in his hands like fireflies, he can't be stopped, he makes me question reality, he can see things I never will be able to, he's undefeatable and has the most obvious weakness, he is nothing, yet everything all at once._

He's my Buddy. What a lucky human I am.

* * *

"Morning class! Today I have something very exciting planned. We're going to write essays using a Buddyfight card pack! I'd like you to create a short story using your monsters you find inside, and make one of them your main character!" I, along with almost everyone else as Baku was still eating, ripped open the card pack given.

Or cut off the top for the neater people who were organized enough to actually bring scissors. But wait, that means Gao is organized? Or were we all supposed to have scissors and I just lost mine? Eh, I guess it doesn't matter either way-

"Yeah! I got a double rare card! Ha, I can't believe it-"

"Then don't and throw it away." I cut into Noboru's speech. Doesn't he have better manners than to disrupt (my thoughts) class like that?

He shot me a glare before returning to his prideful ego.

"Ahem, as I was saying, check it out! A Dragon Knight Maximilian!" He looks pretty happy at that. Dork. But if asked, I wasn't going to say I didn't find it cute.

"Hah, maybe I've got one too." Gao began pulling out cards from next to me, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Go for it dude, you never know until you know, and even then, expect it to change." I flashed him an encouraging smile, but he only looked back at me confused.

"What?" Aww, like a puppy dog. He's adorable.

"Well, after living with Kaen for a while, you notice life can be very odd, and the fact that Kaen can manipulate senses of truth and lies doesn't help."

"Oh." He returned to his pack with a smile, pulling out the first card. I don't think he really listened…

"A Systemic Dagger Dragon. Okay. Next one is… Huh! A Latale Shield Dragon! And a Thousand Rapier Dragon! Man, all of these monster cards are so totally cool." At least he's happy with what he got.

"Ha, none of them are rare though, are they Gao?" Noboru just had to butt in with a snide comment.

"Go back to your realm Noboru." I stuck my tongue out at him, gaining an eye roll and a mutter about my immaturity.

"Doesn't matter." You go Gao, brush him off like he's a speck of dust on your shoulder!

"Picking a double rare card is beyond you anyways. I mean, it takes a lot of skill." Worshipper of Tigers gave us a side-glance, smirk curving his lips.

"Yes Noboru, because choosing the pack of unmarked cards takes a lot of skill. I mean, it's not as if it's completely random and as if you couldn't see what cards were in your pack, right? Noooo, it's all skill that gets you there. Totally not luck." I muttered beneath my breath, itching to start another scene, yet knowing I'd be in detention if I did.

"And now for the last card." Woah, Gao can give people the cold shoulder like a pro. Good job Gao.

As he pulled out the last card, it began to glow, then flew away from his hand and turned into a floating ball of pure energy, emanating a glow from its core. It caused some chaos in the classroom before flying out a half-way open window.

"Oh." I sat there for a few seconds with Gao next to me. "You just pulled a Buddy Rare card. Congrats Gao, and it looks like you jinxed it Noboru!"

"Hey, get back here! That's my card!" Late reaction timing on that Gao. Just a _bit_ late.

I slowly stood and walked into the hall, before the rest of the students could. I watched as Gao rounded a corner, then slid down the metal chute of death others would call a slide. It's an accident waiting to happen, how nobody's dead or seriously injured from it yet confuses me. I sighed, looking around. After deciding it was a risk well taken and that others couldn't crush me at the moment, I followed, with far less… _grace_ than Gao.

Read me sliding down head first because I stumbled at the top, nearly giving myself a concussion when my head came only a few centimeters away from hitting the horizontal bar, and ending up dizzy at the bottom having had managed to hold in a scream as I slid down.

As soon as I was sure I wasn't about to die from a blood rush to the head, I went over to sit cross-legged a ways away from Gao, watching with interest as the glowing sphere came to a stop. The orb expanded, wind following. Classes stopped as students and instructors alike raced to get the best view they could from the many windows.

"All of a sudden now, you have nothing to say?" The voice that came from the orb sounded quite pissed off.

Smoke and dust cleared away in streams, free to disperse. In the midst of it all, a red and orange dragon stood, golden armour adorning him with an impressive drill in hand. A tattered cape blew behind him, colored a dark crimson. He had a fierce gaze, power and distaste in his golden brown eyes. Or would amber be a better description? His tail twitched a bit as he looked over to me, eyes widening a bit, before he focused back on his new Buddy.

"Hey, did I miss much?" Came a whisper from next to me, scaring me half into the death realm. I stiffened a bit, forcing myself to relax as I breathed out a shaky breath. I turned my head a bit to meet very familiar and gentle eyes in two different colors.

"Nah, just in time Kaen. Please don't give me a mini-heart attack next time." I leaned against him as he shifted his legs so he sat cross-legged as well. Maybe he was why the dragon had seemed so surprised upon looking over in my direction.

"Yes! It's a dragon!" We noticed Gao, thank you for pointing out the obvious. I'd say a sarcastic remark about now but this is too cute how excited Gao is and I still feel a bit dizzy from my trip down metal death chute.

"Am I forgiven?" Kaen whispered near my ear, his eyes never straying from the dragon. I got the feeling he meant more than just the scare he gave me right now.

"Of course, I couldn't stay angry with you if I tried. Hey, do you know the dragon?" I asked, curious as to whether they were acquainted or not. It was definitely possible Kaen had met him on a trip/training session of his.

"Well, I don't know him personally, but I think I know his card name. If memory serves me correct, Drum Bunker Dragon, Fang Slade Terrestrial the 13th otherwise known as Drum Bunker Dragon Father, who was one of the two who allowed me permission to enter and exit Dragon World whenever I wished, had a son who was looking for a Buddy. That son could be him." Kaen shrugged a bit, my head following his arm's movement up and down.

"What are you trying to pull kid?" The dragon asked as Gao held up his hand. What. Is. The. Child. Doing.

"Just a handshake. You _are_ going to be my Buddy, aren't cha?" Gao, he looks miffed about something and _oh yeah, is holding a freaking gigantic and dangerous looking drill_ , let's not get ahead of ourselves here dude. Idiot.

Luckily, instead of brutally murdering one of the few friends I had, the dragon turned away with a huff.

"Ha, not if I can help it." Harsh dragon dude. Harsh. Gao's first heartbreak, in front of the whole school too- Oh wait, Gao looks fine. Nevermind, return to your daily scheduled programs people!

"But you came out of my card. Doesn't that mean you have to be my Buddy?" Poor, innocent, naive Gao doesn't understand the rules and contracts of the whole Buddy thing does he? Eh, I don't either, but I've heard of Buddy contracts being terminated before. Close enough, or at least better than Gao's knowledge.

"You think Dragon Knights are better than dragons, do ya?" It's a trap, don't answer Gao, don't answer!

"Well maybe I misheard you." The big mean dragon leaned in towards Gao, ready to huff and puff and blow his house down- Oh, wrong realm, whoops.

"Well, I uh, you know!" That's not convincing at all Gao. Run whilst you still can pal. Then again, pissed off dragon dude has a drill. On second thought, I'll just say I'mma be at the funeral.

"Well I'm waiting." Poor dragon dude isn't aware that he's going to have to wait for a while.

Kaen nudged me, shaking me out of my sarcastic, narrative thoughts. His eyes slid over to the side, and as always, mine followed. There, off to the side a few feet, stood a kid who really liked tigers and dragon knights.

"Why'd you listen to that insolent little friend of your's?!" Dragon dude shouted, an accusing finger pointed at my blond frienemy. I think I can see where this is coming from, listen to Noboru talk for long enough and you're bound to get angry at some point.

"How dare he call me a dimwitted monster?!" Mental gasp, how could he?! That's crossing the lines Noboru, respect everyone until they've done something to break that respect.

"You lucked out. How did a guy like you draw a Buddy Rare monster? I just can't believe it. It's just so unfair." Maybe it's since Gao has one of the kindest, sweetest, most encouraging personalities in all of humanity? And you're over here whining and disrespecting dragons in your corner of self-pity? _I don't know, but maybe it's just that?_

"C'mon, don't be that way." Cue the sunlight to make Gao look even more like the angel he is.

"Huh?" Hahaha, idiot Noboru.

"I may not be the smartest, or know everything that you do, but luck or no luck, the trick is to keep trying and go after what you really want." Words of wisdom right there. I'm so glad you're my friend Gao, everyone needs a bit of sunshine in their life.

"Sure he didn't realm travel with you and pick that quote up somewhere?" I murmured quietly to Kaen. He chuckled and put his hand on top of my head, leaving it there.

"No, I think I'd notice a stowaway. Especially one who seems prone to smiling brightly enough to rival the sun." His breath felt weird on my ear. I rolled my eyes, shifted myself so I was in Kaen's lap and far more comfortable, then continued enjoying the show.

"Right?" I'm positive that Gao can win over everyone with his grin, even this moody dragon.

"Huh? Hey, don't you look at me." Aww, is the giant Armoured Dragon equipped with a mega drill feeling a bit shy?

"I'm still ticked because you believed that whining, sore loser over there. You want to buddy with me, you better show some respect." He understands me…

"Please don't replace me." Kaen's hold on me tightened as he whined into the back of my neck.

"Eh, I have a pretty similar mentality and thought process like dragon dude, but you're far more fun. Never will I replace you, you idiot. We're Buddies." I tossed a quick smile over my shoulder at him, one that he returned albeit a bit more softly.

A gust of wind stopped our Buddy-Bonding moment, forcing me to shield my eyes. Well, I didn't have to wait long to lower my arm, the wind died only a few seconds later.

"It's Jackknife Dragon." The other dragon said. Well this is going to get confusing now, isn't it?

"Woah." Gao seems quite star-struck.

A different voice joined in, once that sounded like it belonged to an authority figure, yet a tinge of excitement barely contained within. A person who loved their work.

"Sorry to just drop in on you, but actually, I'm here on official business. Do you, know who I am?" Called it, he said official business, so an authority figure!

Green light trailing from these disks at the sides of his heels, a boy who didn't look much older than me landed softly on the grass. He had light blue hair in soft spikes and a few gentle wavy strands every here and now in his bangs. His eyes were ruby red, holding a certain quality in them that made it hard to look away.

I was more focused on another detail though.

"Nice pun dude." I nodded at him casually. He looked over at me and blinked, a sheepish smile curving his lips, as if he had finally been caught for the first time stealing cookies from the cookie jar which he had managed to get away with before.

"Tasuku Ryuenji." Noboru breathed out, eyes wide in admiration.

About three seconds later and we were surrounded by small children. Ugh, humans. And nobody has died from the metal chute of death yet. Huh. Weird.

"Well, I guess next time I should have you come in mini form, huh?" Tasuku said to Jackknife Dragon.

"Yes please!" I called out, earning a look that demanded explaining from Kaen.

"Chibi dragons are adorable dude. You know I'm a sucker for cute stuff." I shrugged, Kaen sighed, we returned to the show.

"You're right… But I refuse." Nooooooooo, now I'll never be able to see mini Jackknife Dragon! Tell me it ain't so.

"It's Tasuku Ryuenji, the boy wonder from the Buddy Police! Why is he here at our school?" A different person has joined the main event. Sounds like a fangirl.

Mental note, stay clear of the path between her and her obsessions.

"Listen in as I find out. You're live with school reporter extraordinaire Paruko Nanana and her faithful Buddy sidekick, the one and only Hero World Martian UFO, Takosuke! Come on out Takosuke!" The pinkette held up a card that began glowing the same way dragon dude's had.

So she's got a Buddy, and she's the school reporter. I can make a guess that she Buddy Fights as well, or at the very least, understands the rules. I mean, if she's a reporter for Aibo where Buddy Fighting is immensely popular, then yeah, I'd expect her to know the basics. I guess I won't have to avoid her too much.

"Takosu!" A pink blob with tentacles in a UFO cooed as it came out of Paruko's card. Interesting way to use your Buddy, jumping into the UFO so you can fly...

"Let's go!" Paruko cheered, coming up closer to me, but all her focus was now on Tasuku. Oh, right, you might wanna run bluette.

"Here on active duty, or just come to see me?" I knew she was a fangirl.

"To be honest, I came here to deliver this core deck case to Gao." As if to help him further, he held the core deck case up.

"Here, this belongs to you now. It can be transformed into a core gadget, which will allow you to luminize your deck. Go on, take it." Just take it Gao, Tasuku doesn't seem evil. What's taking you so long?

"Luminize?" Please, please tell me you know what that means Gao, or else somebody's going to explain-

"Any human who becomes Buddies with a monster, is given a core deck case from the Buddyfight Office. Didn't you know that? And yes, of course I have one too." Hey, don't sound so rude. Everyone has a day when their brain is running late.

"Gao, it lets you Buddyfight with a Buddy. I have one too, see- Oh. Whoops. Um, Kaen, mind doing me a huge favor and grabbing my core deck case from home?" I hung my head upon realizing I had forgotten it in the morning rush. At least I always kept one of Kaen's cards on me so I needn't worry about that.

"Oh, and the package." I remembered, smiling up at Kaen. "Fridge, pink box, her name's on front."

"No problem Chiaki. Should only take me a minute." Kaen pulled me up before stepping into a portal. That was a quick farewell.

"Gee thanks." Good job Gao, you remembered your manners enough to thank the blue head.

"This also makes you an official Buddy Fighter. You're now able to go out and Buddyfight with monsters, at anytime and anywhere you want." Tasuku said as Gao turned to me.

"Hey Chiaki, this means we can Buddyfight each other with Buddies now!" Gao cheered, smile threatening to split his face in half.

"Is that a challenge I hear Mister Hotshot?" I teased. "Fight me when you learn your Buddy's name idiot." I rolled my eyes, affectionate smile on my lips.

"Well, bye." Tasuku turned away, getting ready to leave I guess. Too bad for him some people wanted him to stay a bit longer.

"No, hang on!" Gao called.

"Wait, hold on for a moment Bluebell!" I waved my hand around, hoping to catch his attention.

Tasuku froze in mid-step, a confused look over his face.

"Blue… Bell?" And over to the side, I could see Jackknife Dragon covering his mouth as he looked to the side. Stifled laughs came from his direction.

"Where're you going? What if I challenged you to a fight to help train me?" Gao continued without missing a beat.

"Sorry, did I hear you correctly? You'd like to Buddyfight me and Jack from the Buddy Police?" He turned slowly, smile on his lips.

"Well, yeah, that is what Gao said. At least you're not deaf." I had my arms behind my head, and a sarcastic remark just had to get out.

"Yeah! Well, you know, if you're up for it." Holy fudge brownies, either Gao's a clueless, innocent dork, of he's been hiding his taunting skills from me.

"It's too soon to be challenging Master Tasuku of the Buddy Police, don't cha think?!" Paruko leaned in closer to Gao, scaring him.

"Who made him a master? Where did 'master' even come from? Gao's a master black belt, so close enough. And _what are you on_ Paruko?" I asked, tilting my head as a wobbly smile curved half of my face up.

"It's a no-brainer that you'll be completely destroyed! Use your head kid, it's common sense, right?!" Poor Gao's eardrums and my unanswered questions.

"Forgive me if I don't listen to common sense coming from a girl in a UFO." Gao retorted, hands protecting his ears.

"Oh, Gao's got sass. Apply cold water to the burned area." I snickered a bit. Good going Gao.

"Hey you, little human." Everyone turned to see the drill dragon walk towards Gao and scare away Paruko.

"From this moment on, you and I will be Buddies." He finished, eyes set in determination.

"Did you say Buddies?" Gao asked, eyes widening.

"Yes, he did! Ya'll need to get your ears checked, first Bluebell, now you." I muttered.

"Yes!" Gao looks so happy now, there's an even brighter spark in his eyes.

"I am none other than the son of the honorable-" I cut into the dragon's speech, which may have been a bad idea on my part considering the drill he held and all.

"The son of the honorable Drum Bunker Dragon, Fang Slade Terrestrial the 13th. Am I correct?" I smiled at the shocked people and dragon. The son of the honorable Drum Bunker Dragon, Fang Slade Terrestrial the 13th nodded mutely, mouth still open.

"How about I just call you Drum?" Gao was first to snap out of it, it seems.

"Lazy." I muttered.

"Yeah, well how about you don't!?" Drum yelled.

"Whatevs, I'm the leader." No, you're not Gao. You're not the leader. There is no leader. Buddies means partners. Idiot.

"The name's Gao. Gao Mikado." Enjoy your 15 minutes of fame dude.

"You can still take back your challenge if you want to." Paruko sing-songed as she held out her microphone to Gao.

"I don't want to take it back. I don't know why, but I know I have to do this." He definitely looks ready to do this.

"That's why, I'd like to challenge you to a Buddyfight, right here, right now." Hey, I was right, he is ready.

Huh, maybe I'm psychic...

* * *

 **Note that Chiaki is pronounced Chi-Aki. Means either Bloody Autumn or Death in Autumn depending on the kanji used.**

 ** **Story inspired by**** **The Carnival World Player** ** **by B-rabbit28. I've had this idea floating around (with a million other plot bunnies) for quite some time. There's so few Buddyfight multi-chapter stories here. ;-;****


	2. Chapter 2: Ready to Go?

"Kaen?" I hadn't moved an inch from where I was seated in the classroom, everyone else off to eat lunch with friends. I wasn't even supposed to be here, the janitor was cleaning the room today and everyone was meant to get out.

Only me. Alone. Again. All over again. Me alone all over again.

"Kaen?" I repeated louder, raising my head off my arms. I stared at a blank chalkboard, smudges of chalk at the edges, but otherwise clean.

"Kaen." I mumbled, dropping my head back into my arms. The wooden desk felt smooth beneath my touch, pressing itself into my skin. Or was I pressing my arm into the wood?

"Kaen." Where was he?

"I'm scared." Where was he?

"Kaen?" He promised he'd always be there for me.

"Don't leave me." No, please no.

"Not again." I can't fight against them this soon and win again.

"They'll kill me." I'll lose if you don't save me now.

"Please, I'm so, so scared." Don't let them hurt me. No. Please.

My only answer was silence. He told me he'd be back at lunch. He knows where to check. Why isn't he here yet?

"Kaen?" I didn't want to move. Where was he? Where was he? I can't move now, what if I miss him?

"Hey, am I late?" A single noise made by the sound of somebody landing on solid ground after a jump. Right next to me.

"Chiaki, you're not asleep, are you?" A hand on my head, fingers brushing my hair in languid strokes. Warmth from a living being.

"I told you that you shouldn't overwork yourself." Somebody now next to me on the bench. Heat radiated from his being.

"Five minutes here, then I'll carry you over to your next class." He was talking to himself at this point, breath hot against my ear. I didn't move. I didn't want to.

"Unless you're awake. Then we'll go up to the roof to eat." A hand slipping beneath my head to shift me over.

I now stared up at Kaen. He blinked before bringing his head closer and pressing his forehead to mine.

"How are you feeling?" There was something indescribable in his eyes, sharp and unyielding, yet soft and gentle when he looked at me.

"You didn't use my card to contact me." I blinked slowly, still trying to decipher what was in his eyes.

"Are you alright Chiaki?" Now his voice had it too. That weird tone to it, the one he only used with me.

I nodded, our noses brushing in the process. He sighed, sounding so disappointed in the moment. Did I do something wrong?

"Hey, I have your core deck case here. I'll bring the box around at the match, you told me they've rescheduled after all. And here's something to tide Baku over for today, some of your pre-made desserts." Kaen leaned away, setting a flat box and two bentos I hadn't noticed before on the desk.

With careful hands, he reached around me to hook my deck pouch onto my belt, taking care as he fastened it extra securely with safety pins. I spared a small smile, thinking about how I was probably the only one who did this. Safety pins and all.

"Thanks Kaen. Come on, we should eat before I have to go back to class. And Baku might increase my debt if I keep him waiting." I took his hand, leaving him to grab and hold the food as we stood and began walking out. I was sure he was capable of doing it with one hand anyways.

* * *

"So, you blackmailed Baku into building a new deck for Gao? And Gao decided he wanted to fight alongside his monsters, so Baku was forced to put in item cards?" I looked over to Baku as Kuguru gave her nod of confirmation.

"Sounds like it's not Baku's day. Here you go, I hope you don't mind sweets instead of a bento. Debt repaid? There's… Kaen, what you'd grab?" I turned to my Buddy who was eating his bento as calm as he could ever be, which was surprising as Gao was drooling over the food beside him.

"Brownies, a cupcake, and a mini molten lava chocolate cake, the kind you baked marshmallows into." Kaen responded easily, taking another bite of his meal.

"Oh. Well, you heard him, right Baku? Uh, Baku? Are you okay?" I was quite concerned for my dear friend's mental state right now.

"You mean those little chocolate cakes you brought for that bake sale last month? The ones that melted in your mouth, and there was even more chocolate inside? With marshmallows baked in this time? Yes, debt definitely repaid!" Cue Baku looking crazy as he drooled, opening the box without delay.

"What?! No way, I want one! Do you have any more Chiaki?" Gao came over to beg like the puppy I always suspected he was. I mean, those are really good puppy dog eyes.

I shrugged noncommittally. A glance to the side confirmed Baku was already more than half done with the baked treats, having had eaten the cupcake, two out of the three brownies, and was guarding the chocolate molten lava cake the way a dragon guards his treasure hoard.

"Depends on which bento Kaen grabbed for me." Without wanting to keep myself in denial of food any longer, I untied the knot of the cloth and opened the top of the bento box.

"Nice, it's the one with the mini raspberry cheesecakes. I have four of them." I looked up at the possible candidate for the treats that were shaped like flat cupcakes.

The son of the honorable Drum Bunker Dragon, Fang Slade Terrestrial the 13th was creeping closer my way. And he was in SD form. Oh My Devil Lord From Another Realm, he's adorable. He's tiny. He's adorable. Chibi dragons for the win. A calculating smile curved my lips.

"Kaen, you're officially forgiven for this morning's mishap, so here." I passed him one of the treats, choosing the one I thought was biggest. They were all pretty much the same size anyways though. It was the thought that counted, right?

"No problem love." He smirked as he placed it to the side, making sure it was in his bento box and out of Gao's ravenous reaches.

"And Kuguru of course, for being the great friend you are." And so she hopefully won't blackmail me. Immunity from her wrath. She is to be feared.

"Thank you Chiaki. That's nice of you." She took it with a smile, giving me hope I wouldn't face her terror for anytime soon.

"And since Baku already has those to tide him over," I looked over to Drum, holding out the treat.

"Would you like one as well son of the honorable Drum Bunker Dragon, Fang Slade Terrestrial the 13th?" That was a mouthful, but still. Chibi. Dragon. Drum.

Need I say more?

"Ha, you see puny human? At least _somebody_ around here treats me with respect, and calls me by my rightful title. And she's offering me food! Why couldn't I be her Buddy instead?" He's so… He's so cute… Must resist urge to hug the chibi Drum parading himself in front of Gao. Must… Resist…

"You can't be Chiaki's Buddy because I'm already here. You may not yet understand that a person can have multiple Buddies, but it is possible. However, I have already marked my claim on Chiaki, and I will share her as none other's Buddy." A dangerous look was implanted in Kaen's eyes, burning with fury. A taunting and predatory smirk lifted his lips. He exuded confidence and arrogance.

I reached over and pinched his cheek.

"O-Owww, leggo off meh." Kaen whined, voice sounding garbled.

"Apologize to son of the honorable Drum Bunker Dragon, Fang Slade Terrestrial the 13th Kaen. That was rude." I pulled a bit harder to make my point clear. Drum's full name was tiring to say, but he looks so happy when I do it.

Well, more like prideful, but it's still really adorable.

"Sowwy." I released his face. Kaen rolled his eyes, grumbling about something beneath his breath as he rubbed his red cheek.

"Here you are." I passed one of the two last treats to Drum who smiled at me.

"Thank you! So, what's your name? I think I saw you earlier this morning with The Wanderer. I'm surprised you're Buddies with that guy." He slowly peeled back the wrapper of it, blinking amber eyes up at me.

"The Wanderer? Do you mean Kaen? Oh, and I'm Chiaki Fuji, but just Chiaki is fine." I reached out a hand, hoping I could touch his tiny claws and his- I _m_ e _a_ n, hoping for a civilized handshake. Right. That. Awww, he has these tiny claws and his hand's so soft. I think I'm in love. I retracted my hand as he did the same.

"Yeah, Kaen I guess. He's pretty much a legend in Dragon World. He's a pretty famous urban myth that parents tell their hatchlings." Drum had the wrapper all peeled off the mini cake except for the bottom on which he held it.

Without wasting anymore time, he bit into it. As soon as he had swallowed a bite, he froze. His body began trembling.

"Is something wrong Drum?" Gao asked, turning to look over at his Buddy from where he was now seated with me.

"This human food… It's delicious!" He quickly scarfed down the rest of it, not a crumb left. With sparkling, wide puppy-dragon eyes, he looked up at me.

"Please, do you have any more?" He begged, tears glimmering in the corners of his eyes.

"Uh, I have one more, but I'm can't give it to you, sorry." I just wanted to hug the tiny Drum with out-of-this-world cuteness at this point.

"I understand. I guess it is only right that you get to eat one of them yourself." He grumbled, holding his stomach with a sad look.

"Actually, it's not for me. Here Gao, I know you wanted one too. We can share the rest of my bento too if you want, I don't feel so hungry. Did you forget your bento or something today?" I handed a pair of chopsticks to Gao, glad I always kept a spare pair in each bento box.

"Thanks a lot Chiaki! And Baku here took away my lunch. I didn't get to eat a single one of Granny's octopus dumplings." Gao complained before chowing down.

I think he forgot I only said I'd share half, seeing as he had devoured more than that in less then a minute. But it's alright, he looks like he needs it more than me. Besides-

"C'mon, we're sharing then. Desserts first, I'll split the cake." Pulling me closer to him with an arm around my shoulder, Kaen placed the cake in my hands.

-I have Kaen as my amazing Buddy.

"Don't move." He breathed next to my ear, finger pointing at the cake. A thin line began cutting through it, slicing it in perfect halves. Across from us, Baku blinked and rubbed his eyes, muttering about being sleep-deprived.

"Thanks." I murmured, picking up one of the halves and holding it up to Kaen.

"Welcome." Kaen mumbled, biting into it. It was eaten in two short bites, and afterwards, he kissed my fingertips. He insisted I hand-fed him whenever I could because 'a great and powerful being like him found it too tiring to exert energy so he could eat.'

Lazy idiot.

"Maybe add in more sugar next time. And I couldn't quite taste the raspberry, it's a bit dry. Oh, and try to make it more fluffy." He leaned his head onto mine as I started eating my own half.

"Hey, what are you saying? The cake was delicious, way better than the food in Dragon World." Drum walked up to us, eyes trained on Kaen.

"No, Kaen's right-" I was quickly cut into, but at least it gave me time to take another bite of my experiment.

"As always." And cue Kaen's infuriating (yet cute) smirk.

"I could add in more milk next time… and maybe try using a stronger extract. Oh, but I wanted to try vanilla cupcakes today, for a new vanilla frosting recipe that should be thicker than than the icing we tried last time. Which one?" I puffed out my cheeks in thought, wishing I had enough time for both.

"Vanilla raspberry cupcakes sound good." Kaen mumbled into my hair, bringing his other arm to wrap around me.

"But normal cupcakes and cheesecakes don't have the same consistency in their batter. They'll taste off if we use the same amount of raspberry extract in them, and it'll take too long to figure out a good amount of the flavor for cupcakes." I grumbled, eating another bite of the bento, or at least from what Kaen left for me.

"How about we bake a raspberry cheesecake and use that vanilla frosting you want to try out for the top?" Kaen squeezed me closer, pressing his head into the side of my neck.

"Yeah, that sounds like it could work, the raspberry extract to cheesecake ratio should be about the same… And since we're only baking one big cake, we could divide it into quite a few slices. Hey, do you guys want us to bring some to school tomorrow?" I looked to the side so Gao and Drum were in my range of vision as well, Kuguru and Baku sharing a bench across from us.

After four unanimous yeses, along with Kaen muttering about how three of them were too loud, I was just about finished eating. As I raised my chopsticks with the last bite of food up to my lips, Kaen pulled back from my neck and leaned down, finishing what was left.

"Revenge." He mumbled, going back to press his face into my neck.

I sighed, slipping the lid of the bento box back over it. After tying the cloth into a knot above the top and making sure I had the second bento box as well, I put both on the ground. I shifted in my seat so I was facing the others sideways, letting me see them easier.

"Revenge for what Kaen?" I tilted my head backwards, knocking against his lightly.

"For not telling me what's got you so sad." He hugged me closer, my back pressed to his chest.

"I will find out." He whispered in my ear, attempting to be menacing. I rolled my eyes, letting my head drop backwards onto his shoulder.

"Later. Sure. Hey, what kind of stories were there about Kaen in Dragon World son of the honorable Drum Bunker Dragon, Fang Slade Terrestrial the 13th? And do you possibly have a nickname I could use? It's a bit of a mouthful." I asked sheepishly.

"Well, I suppose you could just call me Drum. But only you! And the stories about The Wanderer-" Poor, innocent Drum was cut off.

"Hey, how come you let her call you Drum, Drum? What about me, your Buddy?!" Gao whined. I feel no sympathy for him though, he interrupted little chibi Drum who only wanted to explain something to me.

"Because she was nice and respectful to me! As I was saying, the stories about The Wanderer are known all across Dragon World, wild dragons, armoured dragons, and I think even dragon knights. The urban myths say that 'He will be in the middle of it all when the world of humans fall, he holds death and life and the gray in between like a toy, and there is no telling if he will save the universe, or destroy it." Drum paused, casting Kaen a nervous look. I got the feeling Kaen was looking back, I couldn't feel his face pressed against me anymore.

"Don't glare at Drum, I'm the one who's curious. Are there anymore stories Drum?" I asked with a smile, pushing back just enough so Kaen would follow.

"Well, in the bedtime stories, it's usually about how if you leave past the safe boundaries in which we have marked, you may find yourself in the company of The Wanderer. He'll take you to places across Dragon World you've never been before, and once he returns you home, you'll find yourself wishing you were still with him. Sparkling rivers, lush forests, grand waterfalls with forever rainbows, anywhere and everywhere." Drum stopped again, looking over my shoulder.

"Are you sure this is the same guy?" He muttered.

"I'm known as many things, so let's just make sure. Was it said that 'The Wanderer' wore a black cloak, crimson hood, and a golden chain around his neck?" Kaen raised his mouth from where he had been resting on one of my shoulders.

"Yeah, that's him! So it is you." Drum mumbled, gazing at Kaen.

"I wasn't aware you were this famous Kaen." I mumbled, closing my eyes against the sun's heat.

"Mmm, it wasn't important." He hummed into my shoulder.

"You know, you two have a pretty weird relationship. You seem way closer than normal Buddies." Drum remarked. I didn't bother opening my eyes for that one.

"You'll get used to it. We did, I mean, it took a while, but we eventually figured out they're going to act like that." Baku said, and from the way he was speaking, I got the feeling he had another lollipop in his mouth.

"Kaen and Chiaki are very close in an almost intimate way, but they have good reasons, so don't worry about it." Kuguru's voice sounded as she lightly clapped her hands together once.

"I haven't seen those two apart when they could be together." Gao said. "It's like they're inseparable. Chiaki even keeps one of Kaen's cards on her at all times! I remember her telling me before."

"He's my family, Kaen's precious family." I mumbled, just as the bell rang. Whether I was heard or not, I wouldn't know.

* * *

"Why don't you want to watch the match?" Kaen asked from next to me.

I shrugged noncommittally, hands shoved in my hoodie pocket, hood up. I shivered a bit, regretting what this morning's too fast choices led me to wear. A long sleeved, horizontally striped shirt in black and red beneath a thin, light green hoodie provided little protection against the wind in this part of the city. Not to mention the navy sweatpants I grabbed were the thinner pair. Bad luck on my part.

"Chiaki?" Kaen asked from where he walked backwards next to me. "I know you take pride in your baking, and that you really want to congratulate Drum and Gao for their first official match and possible win, but you could have just asked me to come out here for the ingredients. It's dangerous."

"I'm fine Kaen, you're with me after all." I mumbled, shoulders hunching over even more as a wind breezed past me and chilled me past my clothes and down to my bones.

"Come over here." Kaen sighed, turning to walk normally next to me. He pulled me in front of him, so we walked together with him pressed against me.

"I'm really glad you're so warm." I admitted, making sure I was absorbing as much body heat as I could.

". . . Chiaki, there's a group of people in front of us. Two from before are still on our tail. We're realm jumping." His voice turned serious as he leaned in closer to talk next to my ear.

"Lead the way." I clenched my hands tighter in my hoodie pocket.

"Alright, we'll leave soon." Gently taking a hand out of my pocket, Kaen laced his fingers with mine and wrapped his other arm around my waist. The people in front of us began running our way. Footsteps came from behind as well.

A portal appeared in front of us, a swirl of lavender and orange. I glanced up at Kaen, noting his left eye had become a dark violet which was more close to black than all else, and taking that as a bad sign, hurriedly stepped into the dimension crosser.

"I will never get used to this place. Thanks for changing the scenery." I whispered as crystals glimmered in the moonlight escaping through a hole at the top of the extremely spacious cave like area. All around us were portals, ranging from swirling mixed colored ones to the kind that looked like simple mirrors reflecting something not there, to bubbles floating here and everywhere.

"Yeah, I know you prefer something solid under your feet." Kaen smiled at me, arms tightening around my waist. I hadn't noticed when he had dropped my hand in favor of holding the rest of me.

"Which one do we take?" I asked, looking around us.

"Can't you at least return my hug?" Kaen whined, pout on his lips. I almost laughed at how childish he could be, and look.

"Alright, alright. Sorry I dragged you into this." I murmured against his shirt.

"You didn't drag me into it, I followed you into it. I would follow you to the ends of the world, remember that love." He leaned back, smiling at me again.

"Idiot. Don't you know how dangerous that could be? We might fall right off the world's edge. So, which way back to home?" I pushed him off me, smiling as much as I possibly could in the moment. He should be more careful around me. I might hurt him.

"Here, after you love." He bowed, an arm swept to the side over to a portal in a swirl of calming blues and greens. Truly a depicting version of home. Calm, peace, safety.

"Alright, we've got less than an hour, let's make this work." I grinned, clapping my hands together as I stepped through, Kaen right behind me.

* * *

"H-Hey there Tiger, how's… the match… been?" I slid into the seat beside Noboru, trying to stop my legs from shaking. I slapped a hand over my mouth, afraid my stomach might dislodge itself.

Noboru only stared at me with wide eyes, like everyone else who had been looking my way. His mouth slowly fell open, in what was safe to say, disbelief.

"Did… Did I just really see what happened? Did what happen really just happen?" Paruko voiced into her mic.

". . . Sooooo, bad portal placement love?" Kaen asked sheepishly from next to me. He better still be holding the boxes.

"Oh, I don't know. I mean, you only dropped me from the ceiling! If that was on purpose Kaen, I'm going to-" I was cut into by Paruko's loud voice.

"A girl and what appears to be her Buddy just fell from nowhere! O-Oh, but the match is still on people! And Gao was in the middle of his attack!" Paruko kept sneaking glances over at me though.

"That was… interesting? Is she alright?" Tasuku said from where he stood on one side of the ring. Even from here, I could see him sweat-dropping.

"Chiaki, are you alright?" Gao called from the other side in which a large sword was in his hands.

"Ask me when the room stops spinning." I groaned, hanging my head.

"Gao, it's still your turn!" Paruko reminded, startling the poor guy.

"Oh, right! Alright Drum, you go first!" Gao called over to his Buddy as he jumped onto his center area.

"Okay! Crash! Drill... Ram... BUNKER!" The dragon yelled as he hit Tasuku directly, inflicting 3 damage. I watched as the orange-red numbers shattered from 6 into 3.

Gao charged with a battle-cry, jumping up and slashing his sword down. Light filled Tasuku's side. It was pretty hard to say I saw anything at all as I was still a tad disoriented, but I could swear…

Tasuku smiled.

" _Winner, Gao Mikado._ " The automated voice said in its familiar monotone.

Gao bowed his head a bit, arms bent at his elbows, forearms horizontal next to his sides.

"Hah. Thank you, thank you very much." I guess somebody's found their winning pose. Not bad Gao, not bad at all.

"Think we could win against him?" Kaen tilted his head back to look at me from where he had to sit cross-legged on the floor.

"Who cares? I'm sure a match against either one of those two would be a hell ton of fun." I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"Shall we go congratulate the winner?" Kaen patted the box in his lap lightly, the smaller one above another package of sweets.

"Winners. Don't forget Drum and Gao worked together." I began combing back Kaen's hair with my hand.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot that Gao was a part of it." Kaen teased, sticking out his tongue a bit at me, wiggling his eyebrows. As always, I started laughing.

"Idiot." I mumbled affectionately.

"But you love me anyways!" He sang.

"Of course." I answered easily, reaching down to grab the top box. "So let's go."

"You two are really weird." Noboru commented from beside us.

"Why thank you Tiger." I simply smiled back.

"You two act so much… _closer_ than normal Buddies." Noboru seemed a bit confused, his poor tiny brain, so I decided to help explain.

"We're family. Kaen's all I've got in my family. Friends are wonderful and all, but family's important too. Besides, Kaen lives with me, you grow attached to others who share virtually everything with you. Single bed included." I laughed as I reached up to pet Noboru's fluffy two-colored hair.

"And your parents don't mind?" Noboru asked disbelievingly. "And stop touching my hair!"

"Chiaki's parents don't mind." Kaen answered for me, pulling me to his chest. He was right they didn't care what we did. They didn't even know it was 'we' now.

"Hey, Gao just got a new card. And Tasuku got one too now." I pointed down at the scene.

Gargantua Punisher… what a troublesome card to use. Right up Gao's alley. Kaen seemed interested in it though. He was staring intently at Gao, eyes soon moving over to Tasuku and Jackknife Dragon behind him.

"Those eyes…" He muttered, releasing me from his hug. Just in time as well, else Tasuku might leave, oh, wait, they're already leaving! They disappeared into one of the exits out, gotta go now!

"Alright, off I go, wish me luck!" I mean, the drop shouldn't be too bad, right? I've had worse.

Without wasting another moment, I leaped over the safety fence and onto the middle, running to stand right next to both players. I'd give myself a ten out of ten, perfect landing. Tasuku turned to me far quicker than Gao. Not a bad reaction timing.

"Hey, so I wasn't here for most of it, but I'm sure it was a great match, and I have a good reason for this. Congrats on the new friendships, yadda yadda yadda, I baked some treats, you want?" Perhaps not an ideal way to introduce myself, but I think it worked. We're standing in a bit of an ominous tunnel, but I shouldn't seem too suspicious, right?

"Um, I'm sorry, but who are you?" Tasuku asked as Gao and Drum snatched the box out of my hands, opening it in mere seconds.

"Only the best baker and chef in the world! Her name's Chiaki Fuji, a friends of mine. Hey, if you don't want your cake, I can take it off your hands Tasuku-" I slammed my fist on Gao's head, eliciting a whine from him.

"There's only going to be one for each of you!" I glared at Gao and Drum. "In fact, just give me back the box now. Idiots." I grumbled beneath my breath as I took back the remaining treats.

"I was just trying to do my good deed for the day Chiaki!" Gao tried to convince me. "Hey, what are these by the way?"

"I figured you can't go wrong with strawberry shortcake, and I had been wanting to try a new vanilla icing recipe for a while. Here, there's a cake for you and Jackknife Dragon too." I looked behind me just as Kaen joined us, walking at a leisurely pace.

"Thank you. It's very kind of you to do this." Tasuku smiled as he passed a cake to Jackknife Dragon. "And you can just call my Buddy Jack for short."

"Well, I can't say it's not all selfish when I do this. Do you mind helping me with something Tasuku?" I clapped my hands in front of me, bending into a half bow with a sheepish smile.

"I guess I could try to help you if I can." He's a really nice guy. Are all Buddy Police programmed like this? Or just the (cute and hot) teens?

"Well, the day I became Buddies with Kaen, the Buddy Police Office was running short on officers who weren't already on missions. So this girl, Miss Stella, was the one who came to give me my Core Deck Case. I wanted to thank her for going to find me even though she told me she wasn't really a field officer and I was in a really… uh, strange place. Do you mind delivering some sweets I made for her? I thought since you're with the Buddy Police too… It'd mean a lot." I took the second box from Kaen, hoping he'd agree.

"Oh, so you must be that girl Miss Stella was talking about the other day! She seemed really happy after meeting you. If I remember correctly, she even let it slip out she wished she had a younger sister like you. You were all she would talk about for days. It wouldn't be a problem at all." Tasuku took the box from me with a smile as I tried to calm the blush spreading across my face and my pounding heartbeat.

"Are you alright?" He asked, looking at me with concern, lips still in a smile, albeit a bit smaller from earlier and more confused.

"Y-Yeah. Please tell Miss Stella th-that I'm very grateful for what she d-did a-and-" A hand fell on my head, slipping down to cover my mouth.

"Excuse Chiaki here, she tends to become a blushing, stuttering mess when she gets complimented. Isn't she adorable?" Kaen grinned, leaning in next to me.

I attempted prying his hand off my mouth, but he wouldn't budge. Curse him and his strength. I gestured Drum over to help me. With crumbs still all over his face, he walked over and poked Kaen's hand with his drill.

"Ow, what's the big idea dude?!" Kaen yelped, pulling his hand away.

"She didn't want you to do that, so I helped." Drum shrugged, eyes bored.

"And when did the newbie dragon start caring for others?" Kaen smirked, voice lowering into something dangerous. His left eye turned into a glassy light purple, as if you would fall through if you stared for too long.

"The human girl feeds me, so of course I'd be nice to her." So he's only using me for the food? Harsh. I sighed, looking away from Drum.

"I guess his stomach is bigger than his heart." I mumbled, pushing my bangs back with a hand. Maybe I could bribe him into a hug with some sweets…

"Wait, Chiaki right?" Jack lowered his head so we were closer to eye level.

"Yeah, did you need something?" I asked, making sure I wore a smile so I wouldn't seem rude. Behind me, I heard Gao, Drum, and Kaen all in one big argument. Something about… me?

". . . This might just work." The green dragon mumbled. "Chiaki would you help me with something?" His piercing eyes seemed to see past everything. Everything I put up.

"Wait, you haven't asked me to help you with anything Jack." Tasuku jumped in, looking confused as to where this proposal came from.

"You wouldn't be able to do this job. After all, this is a job for a kid, not an 'adult'." Jack answered curtly.

"That hurts." Tasuku laughed lightly, but I saw a glimmer of disappointment in his red eyes.

"Um, I'll help if I can, but a question first. What adult are you talking about?" I looked around us, confirming nobody with such a status stood near us in the decently lit tunnel.

"Tasuku here is trying to grow up faster than he should. He doesn't understand it's alright to act like a kid and cherish that. So what I ask of you is that you be Tasuku's friend and come forcefully drag him away from taking on too many missions when he's stubborn enough to not rest for days on end." Jack sent a look at Tasuku when he started to protest, but that didn't stop the guy.

"So… you don't want to be friends with me?" I whispered, catching both the Buddy Cop and Buddy Monster's attention. I shed a few fake tears to add to the effect.

"N-No, it's not that at all! Of course I want to be friends with you! Jack, what do I do, she's crying! I can't handle that, give me criminal fighters any day, but not a crying girl!" Tasuku stage-whispered wide-eyed to the green dragon who only stared at me with his own bored eyes.

"Great, now we're friends!" I cheered, clapping my hands together as a smile stretched my face.

"She wasn't actually crying Tasuku." Jack muttered, still staring at me with flat eyes, as if wondering how well-thought out his plan was.

"O-Oh. What now?" Tasuku asked, scratching the back of his head as he looked to the floor.

". . . Jack, Tasuku, may I ask of another favor? This time as, um, as friends?" I squeaked out, focusing more on Jack than the blue-haired human beside him. I found it easier to talk with those who weren't people. Anything else worked, I've chattered away to trees and rocks before I met Kaen, and a few times after as well.

"Of course child, go ahead." Jack answered for both of them. Tasuku nodded as well, gentle smile resting on his face.

"Eh, can you two be my guinea pigs?" I looked at them with what I hoped was a convincing smile. "It'd help improve my skills, I think."

"Guinea pigs?" Tasuku repeated, deadpanning. I realized how strange that must have sounded.

"Okay, that sounded off from what I meant. So, I was hoping you two could try out some of my new recipes and give me feedback on it. Uh, just stuff like what could be better or what you liked about it. I'd rather not ask Gao and Drum since they'd just devour everything and their feedback's weak." I explained, leaning back a bit, hoping to feel the warmth from Kaen's body.

Of course I would forget Kaen was in a very childish argument with Gao and Drum, so I fell onto my butt. I blinked a few times, processing what happened. The talking from behind me stopped as footsteps quickly approached.

"Getting dependent on me now Chiaki?" Kaen teased, picking me up as if I weighed no more than a chocolate chip.

". . . Sometimes, I wonder how in the infinite realms did we end up Buddies." I muttered, squirming as I tried to get him to let me go.

"Well, it wasn't perfect, you hated me at first sight, and I despised and pitied the tiny human who had come across my path. You know very well it's your fault we're Buddies." Kaen grinned, letting me onto my feet softly.

"How the hell was I supposed to know I only needed to make physical contact with you to bind us in a Buddy Contract?" I muttered, a faint smile creeping up my lips. Kaen laughed loudly, arms wrapping around me.

"Even if you didn't know, you should be more careful and not trip over empty air to land in a stranger's arms." His hot breath tickled my ear. I ignored Tasuku's mildly confused look and Jack's intense staring at Kaen.

"I guess it's finally my turn to call you an idiot." Kaen blew into my ear, making me twist away from him as much as I could.

"Idiot." I mumbled, smile playing across my lips.

"Chiaki, may I ask the name of your Buddy?" Jack cut in.

"Hm? He's Kaen." I wondered how Jack could have missed that, or maybe his name hasn't been used earlier.

"The, card name, please." Jack insisted, eyes still staring at Kaen still in quite some disbelief.

I glanced over to the side where Gao and Drum were still arguing. After deciding they could wait a bit more, I relaxed in Kaen's hold.

"Realm Distorter Kaen. Why do you ask?" I tilted my head up, looking at Kaen, eyebrows scrunched together.

"Are you hiding something else?" But to my dismay, silence was my only answer. I watched quietly as Kaen's left eye darkened into a color closer to royal blue, but still in the color category of purple.

"Whatever could you mean Chiaki." A smile slid onto his lips, one I found myself growing scared of. It was quiet, a quiet smile if that made any sense. There were secrets. He hasn't told me.

But that's alright I think. Since I haven't told him all of mine either.

"Tasuku, hope we'll meet again soon! Don't join the dark side, kay Bluebell?" I winked, leaning forwards in Kaen's grasp.

"Bluebell? Wait, were you the one from this morning who called me that too?" Tasuku seemed a bit flustered, light pink marking his cheeks.

"Yes." No point in denying it.

"Could you please not?" Tasuku sweatdropped, wry smile on his face.

"Yeah, bluebells are honestly more purple than blue. I'll call you Bluejay instead. They're actually blue." I smiled at Tasuku who looked quite pink at the moment. He protested weakly again, I refuted, and on we chattered and laughed for who knows how long? I know it wasn't long at all.

Until Tasuku got a call from the Buddy Police, sending me an apologetic look after getting the details.

"I'm sorry, but I really have to leave now Chiaki. Take care!" He called back at us as he turned on his BUddy Skill to begin floating.

"Aye aye captain. See you later Bluejay. C'mon Kaen, shall we jump?" I grinned at my Buddy, enjoying how his left eye turned lighter and into something colored more like a wisp of lavender smoke. It never failed to entertain me as his eye changed colors.  
Beautiful, breath-taking, simply so...

"We'll take our leave then. Hold on love." Squeezing me tighter, Kaen jumped, and as we fell, a portal opened beneath our feet. I glimpsed wide eyes and dropped jaws as I felt gravity from a different realm pulling us down, eyes widening as what was happening registered in my mind.

"Very, very bad portal placement Kaen!-" My voice was swallowed up as we landed in a grassy field.

"I hate you." I groaned, Kaen dropping me onto my butt. I fell backwards onto soft grass. The scene was similar to the crystal cave, portals in all kinds surrounding us. The only difference was that we were in an open, sweet-aired and grassy field.

"Is that so? Even when I've been so nice to you?" He laughed as I swatted his arm.

"Idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot. I hate you." I mumbled, rolling over onto my side so I wasn't facing him.

"Aww, don't be so mean to me love." He whined. I rolled my eyes, smile tilting my lips.

"Want to take a bit of a break?" He murmured as he flopped down next to me, his hand grasping at my hair that slipped through like wind. I closed my eyes as I leaned into his touch.

"Shush, I'm ignoring you." I murmured, slowly shaking my head back and forth so his hand mussed up my hair. It felt nice.

"Oh. So I guess you wouldn't care if," I heard him snap his fingers before continuing.

"I did this." He finished, something silky and gleeful in his voice.

I opened my eyes, ready to stand on the field to see what he had done. Two things were wrong with that idea, first off, the field wasn't there, and secondly, there wasn't even much to see now. A void space was the setting, only portals acting as breaks of color in the vast darkness engulfing the area. Pitch black spread from indiscernible four corners to reach me, taunting me, terrifying me in what felt like the center of the end of the universe.

"I hate you Kaen. I really, really, _very_ much hate you." I whispered with wide eyes as I tried getting my breathing back under control. I closed my eyes, hoping the fact I couldn't see it anymore would help trick the mind it wasn't there anymore.

"You really need to start sharing some secrets love, perhaps beginning with your fear of this place?" I heard him snap his fingers again as my head turned in circles and jolted me into a different state of awareness, eyes now open.

Kaen held me with my back to his chest and his arm around my waist in the place between sky and space, atop clouds colored pure white. I sighed softly, breath barely heard as Kaen assembled another portal.

"Home sweet home, we shall go." He told me, the arm he had wrapped around my waist releasing and ending up on my back. He gave me a firm shove, launching me through swirling tendrils of blue and green.

I landed on my bed, the blankets still messed up from this morning's quick escape of their warmth and fluffiness. My pillow ended up on the floor as the mattress gave way to me, dipping down where my weight centered. My breath was knocked out of me, implying me to just lay in the center of peace and chaos for a while before I could get back up.

"Hey, I think you're getting better at this portal placement thing Kaen."

I didn't even get a warning as his body came through the portal next, landing on top of me and trapping me beneath him.

"Awww, you really think so Chiaki?~ How nice of you to say!~"

"GET OFF OF ME YOU OVERWEIGHT IDIOT!"

Maybe that was said too soon…

* * *

"Ya know love, quite rude of you to call me overweight earlier, it hurt me feelings deeply, I'm emotionally wounded now." If an overdramatic voice, I might have been a bit more inclined to believe him. And if I didn't suspect ulterior motives.

"No Kaen, you can't lick the spoon. Please, at least _try_ to act mature, even though you are the complete opposite of that." I muttered, focused on the cake in the oven, counting down seconds until we could decorate it. Decoration was one of my favorite parts, along with taste-testing and making frosting.

"Well, I suppose that excuses my next actions."

White danced across my vision. Taking only a second to realize my 'dear Buddy' had dumped flour over my head, I stood and began the retaliation. A bowl of sugar, or was it salt?, flung at him. He blocked with his arms and grabbed the bag of flour we had yet to put away. I was dusted snow white once more, causing me to sneeze.

"Can I lick the spoon now?" He laughed, a warm hand suddenly on my cheek.

I felt him wiping away my face with a wet towel, yet his hand on my cheek only receded when he needed to reach the parts of my face it had covered.

"So childish Kaen." I stuck my tongue out at him as he laughed again, my hand subtly inching for the bag of flour.

"But then again, so am I." I smiled as the rest of the contents of the bag were emptied over his head.

He blinked comically, eyes wide. I giggled, reaching a hand up to brush open a clear spot on his cheek. On my toes, I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, just as a ring resounded through the kitchen.

"Let's get the cake out to cool, clean up, and frost. No more 'incidents', kay Kaen?" I let out another giggle as he smeared flour over my cheeks in two streaks on each side, his pout visible.

"Why should I listen love? This is so much more fun." He leaned in closer, blowing at my face so flour from his lips ended up caught in my eyelashes and hair. Luckily I closed my eyes first.

"I'll let you lick the spoon."

"So, cake out of the oven and we go clean up? Sounds like a wonderful plan!"

"You idiot, you stupid, lovable idiot."

* * *

"We should take showers together more often Chiaki." I winced as the hairbrush caught another knot in my hair.

"Eh, it's really all up to chance if we need to take a shower at the same time. Nothing big. It is easier to shower together though, usually I can't wash my back or hair as well as you do." I yelped as another tug from the brush found another tangle. Kaen tugged me to sit next to him on the couch as his fingers combed through my hair, pulling it into an overlapping pattern.

"Mmm, I'll have to be around you more. Annnnnd, done. Let's go finish the cake." The brush lay on the table, my hair pulled back into a loose braid.

"Can you start on the frosting while I clean up the kitchen a bit? And don't eat too much of it, we have the whole cake to decorate." I warned him, knowing he would eat it all if he could.

"Fine, but I get a bigger slice of the cake than that _drill dragon_." Kaen pretty much spat out the last two words with hatred.

"Drum?! What? But, he's so cute and sweet, how could you hate him Kaen?" I puffed out my cheeks, glaring at my Buddy.

"He's distracting you from me." He reached over to push stray hairs behind my ear.

"He's adorable. Besides you know we're already Buddies, it's not as if I'd leave you. Idiot, you know how much I love you." I rolled my eyes, avoiding Kaen's gaze.

"Hm, I suppose I can settle for that. At least for now." He stepped towards me, arms wrapping around me, pulling me to his body.

I breathed in the leftover smell of baking ingredients lingering on him and relaxed in his gentle grip. His heartbeat was on repeat in a calm manner, lulling me to peace. I reached my arms behind him to weakly hook onto his back. A sigh full of content filled part of the silence.

"I love you too Chiaki. I love you more than I can say."

* * *

 **Sometimes I wonder about me. How did I fail so badly. I'm so sorry, but after so long, here's another chappie. Sorry.**

 **Guess who's going to Six Flags?!**

 **Not me!**

 **But I have testing for the next 2-3 months until summer break! So I won't be around as much! Boo!**

 **Ugh, happy days to you guys. Please review?**


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